Amy O'Brien-Brahm Halffman

Amy O'Brien-Brahm Halffman passed away peacefully on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, surrounded in the love of her family. She was 52. Beloved mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend, Amy radiated grace and kindness; she lit up a room, looked you in the eye and made you feel special. Her greatest joy in life was her family, and if you were lucky enough to call her a friend, you felt lifted up by her presence and held by her love.
Amy O'Brien-Brahm Halffman was born on Sept. 24, 1973 in San Jose, Calif., where she forged a deep love of the ocean while playing on the sands of Hidden Beach in Aptos, Calif. with her family. When she was 6, her parents moved the family to Mercer Island, Wash. Amy exchanged the ocean for Lake Washington and sandy beaches for the woods around the house she grew up in on the south end of the Island. Amy made life-long friends she carried from St. Monica School to Mercer Island High School, and then the University of Washington, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
In college, Amy discovered her love of interior design and after earning her bachelor of arts degree at UW, she attended the Art Institute of Seattle where she earned an AA degree in design.
In college, she also met the love of her life, Ryland Halffman. Amy and Ryland married a few years after college and started their family in the View Ridge neighborhood not far from where Ryland grew up. Staying close was by design.
Amy's greatest joy in life was always her family. She loved her children, Reese, Tyler and Zachary, to the moon and back a billion times. Spending time with her children and seeing them grow up surrounded by extended family and all their cousins was a blessing that Amy counted numerous times.
While raising her children, Amy also built a successful career as an interior designer working in the yachting industry. She started her career working with Westport Marine before branching out to run her own business, delivering more than 100 yachts over her 25 years in the industry. Amy's work was lauded with industry awards and featured in yachting magazines. Her ability to create warm, timeless and elegant interiors was a reflection of her values and her heart. Her clients trusted her and she built lasting partnerships with anyone who had the pleasure of working with her on a project.
Amy was generous and kind, even while facing difficulties with her health; she never stopped asking people about themselves, or wishing them the best. She understood the importance of focusing on the present moment and took nothing for granted.
Amy is survived by so any people who loved her. She is survived by her husband, Ryland, and their three children, Reese, Tyler and Zac. She leaves her father, Robert Brahm and his wife, Jane. Her sisters and their spouses: Suzanne and Michael Glover; Erin and Michael Vickers; and Lindsey and Matt Werkhoven. She leaves her father-in-law, Dick Halffman, Ryland's brother Brendan and his wife, Tracey; his sister Renee Smith and her husband Roger; and his sister, Rhonda and her partner, Steve. Between both families, Amy's children have grown up surrounded by a tight-knit and loving group of cousins that includes: Zoe and Piper Halffman; Birk and Brynn Smith; Deacon and Vivienne Glover; Elliott ad Cassidy Vickers; and Orson and Wren Werkhoven.
Time with family at Hidden Beach in Aptos was second only to spending days at the lake at Grandma Jane's and Grandpa Bob's house affectionately called "Camp Ja-Bo." She did not take any of these moments for granted and held each opportunity to bring the family all together sacred. She felt blessed and lucky.
Amy was preceded in death by her mother, Margo, who died in 1999, and Ryland's mother, Lana, who passed away in 1998. Saying goodbye to Amy was one of the most difficult things our family has faced, but knowing that she is in the loving embrace of her mother brings us all deep comfort.
Services are planned for late November in Seattle.
Memorials may be sent to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, earmarked for metastatic breast cancer treatment and research.

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